Chard Gone Wild = Garden Omelet

When I got up this morning, everything was different. No water falling from the sky; no rain. From my bedroom window I could see the mountains over my neighbor’s roof.  No fog, no low clouds.

Downstairs, there was a weird brightness to the world. I had to squint to see, and when I looked up, I couldn’t see at all. What was–wait, I remember–it’s–it’s–it’s sunshine! Yes, the sun was shining. I would get into the garden today.

So I made an omelet for the Significant Other and myself. (If you cannot follow the reasoning here, go away.)

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In the past couple of weeks the indoor chard has been doing its best to escape the confines of its box, so I brought it outside to begin hardening off, and cut the longest stalks and leaves for breakfast fare. A couple of scallions from the garden seemed apropos; the stems were so sweet and crisp I chopped most of them as well, adding the left-over tips to the stock pot on the stove.

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These were indeed some of the 2nd year onions that wintered over under a plastic hood, of whose fate and flavor I was so uncertain. Well, they’re wonderful, even those that had been considering going to flower. (I nipped those in the bud, following advice given by Karen, of An Artist’s Garden.)

If I ever feeling like committing suicide, avocados will probably be one of the reasons I change my mind. However, they’re so high in calories that they’ve always felt like a guilty indulgence, right up there with ice cream. Until a couple of weeks ago, that is, when I learned that avocados are one of the few non-fishy foods that contain omega-3 fatty acids. Thank you, NPR! Thank you, Infinite Mind! Thank you, Peter Kramer!

Walnuts, too, made the omega 3 list, so I figured they made the cut for my omlette as well. The glass jar on the island that holds toasted ones was nearly empty–elves? goblins? number 1 son?–your guess is as good as mine. I figured I could just toss raw ones into the frying pan with the onions et. al., so I added a few walnuts to the cutting board.

Last, I crumbled up some feta. You saw the whole gang at the top of the post.

I’ve long been chopping chard stems and sautéing them almost whenever I use chard, but this time I learned that the oldest part of the main stem can get tough and stringy. Also, the walnuts were not all I’d hoped for–no crispness. I may try again with pre-toasted ones.

But all in all–pretty damned tasty.

And by the way, it’s now sleeting with a vengeance. I think today’s gardening window just slammed shut.

2 Responses to Chard Gone Wild = Garden Omelet

  1. Looks yummey. Onions that have tried to flower taste fine – they just don’t keep.
    My garlic tried to flower to-day – so that flower got nipped out.
    Sorry your gardening window got slammed shut
    Regards
    Karen
    PS. In answer to your question – I live in Wales in the U.K.
    Thanks for the onion input–I’ve been working on that one for a while! The gardening window actually re-opened that day, but it’s been practically nailed closed the past two days. Constant rain when it isn’t snowing.
    Wales–we visited once, decades ago. Had lunch by a stream, our son asleep in the grass. I know, romantic nonesense. But still–
    Kate

  2. I could get behind this kind of delicious omelet! I’ve never tried walnuts – or any kind of nut – in my omelet and it could really work for me!
    Well, as I say, the walnuts didn’t quite work, but I think they would have if they’d been pre-toasted. We do pine-nuts fairly often, usually with bleu cheese or goat cheese like this one. Now, that’s tasty. But I’ve expanded my use of walnuts recently, using them in pasta sauces for instance, and I’ve really enjoyed them. Let me know if you try them!
    –Kate

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